In the modern kitchen, one common appliance is the dishwasher, or in more specific terms, the automatic dishwasher. Most automatic dishwashers share certain basic components. There is a compartment in which the dishes or crockery are placed and enclosed for treatment or washing. Commonly, there is at least one rack to hold the items to be cleaned. A hinged door or sliding drawer is commonly used to enclose the compartment and its contents. Also, there are commonly a number of nozzles for spraying water to facilitate the cleaning within the compartment. Lastly, there is a dispenser for detergent to release detergent into the compartment during the treatment process and the detergent dispenser will have a cover to hold the detergent therein. An exemplary dishwasher having a detergent dispenser is shown in Wilhemstaetter et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,884,821, which is incorporated by reference herein. Of course, it is to be understood that these components are common and basic, and that individual appliances will differ in the make-up of their components.
Another commonality between modern automatic dishwashers is the basic steps of the cleaning cycle. Generally, there is first a pre-wash stage in which water is sprayed in the compartment to wet the items to be cleaned and any soilage thereon. Once the items have been sprayed, detergent is released into the compartment and further spraying occurs with the detergent mixing with the water to remove the soilage from the dishes and crockery. Subsequently, a rinse stage occurs to wash away the detergent and any remaining soilage. Finally, a drying stage occurs during which the dishes and/or crockery are dried. Again, it is to be understood that these steps are common and basic, however, individual dishwashers may operate with a number of different cycles having a variety of steps ordered in different ways.
Before the dishwasher is operated though, it must be loaded with the items to be cleaned and detergent must be added to the dispenser. The amount of detergent used is generally dependent on the level of soilage and number of items to be cleaned. Detergent is commonly sold in bulk, in liquid, tablet, or powder form. Therefore, when the detergent dispenser is loaded with detergent, the detergent must be poured or inserted into a container of the dispenser. Often though, the user will spill the detergent around the container of dispenser and the presence of the detergent around the container of the dispenser will make it difficult to close the dispenser cover and seal the detergent in the container of the dispenser.
A need has developed to address one or more shortcomings of the prior art.